Ego: Fallen
by RadonMax
Summary: I've lived in this world for so long that I had forgotten how the future would be. I knew that it was different then how it originally was. Especially since I'm the one sitting upon the throne of Derris-Kharlan and the heroes pointed their weapons at me.
1. Chapter 1

Max: Ego. How chapter one should have been.

Mathew: Should have been?

Max: Yeah I didn't really like the chapter one of the other story.

Mike: You don't say...

Mathew: Well at least your skill in writing has increased.

Mike: Thanks. Now lets see if we can keep up our motivation and keep our muse chained to the desk.

Max: So who's the muse here?

Mike: (points to Mathew)

Mathew: ...

Max: I see. I also see that chain. (points to the chain wrapped around Mathew's leg)

Mike: RadonMax only owns the original characters and the rest belongs to Namco.

I've lived in this world for so long that I had forgotten how the future would be. I knew that it was different then how it originally was. Especially since I'm the one sitting upon the throne of Derris-Kharlan and the heroes pointed their weapons at me.

* * *

Derris-Kharlan, the home world of the elves, was falling. It would soon pierce the atmosphere of the planet below, and crash into it. The contingency plan was in place. There was enough mana drained from the comet, that the dimensional rift that Yggdrasil had created would absorb the falling mass and meld it seamlessly with the rest of the world.

Here I am, in the throne room of the castle that was built upon the comet, on the floor in a puddle of my own blood. Lloyd and the rest of the group were there too. Their intent when they arrived was to kill me. They succeeded. I'll admit it I deserved it.

Why?

I betrayed them. I had taken advantage of their friendship and twisted their help into something that benefited only me.

Strangely enough, if I had the strength I would smile. I had known long ago that I had passed the point of no return and that they could never forgive me for what I had done to them. But I was happy for them. They were able to overcome what I had done to them and it had changed them. They didn't know that I had manipulated them into growing differently that what was dictated by the game.

"Why?" I heard Lloyd ask as the knelt next to me. "Why did you do those things to us? Why did you make me have to kill you!"

I couldn't answer him. Even if I could I still wouldn't tell him. The truth would hurt him and make him question his beliefs. I didn't want to do all that to him and my friends in this twisted world.

But I had to.

I didn't want to end up the way I did. But fate was cruel. When I ended up in this world everything shifted. Ether I would walk down this dark path or it would have had to be him. So for the first time in my life I took the initiative and had taken Lloyd's place. Instead of him falling into corruption and becoming everything he fought against, I did. Did I regret it? Yes, I did. But looking at him, as I lay dieing, for the first time I thought maybe. Maybe it was worth it. I really didn't have anything left tying myself to this world so I could go on peacefully. As I laid there, staring at the sky, my thoughts drifted back. When and why did it all go wrong? It probably started when I found it.

* * *

I was just a teen back then young and foolish. Looking back, I longed for those days again. Back when everything was simple. When everything was black and white to me. I had moved away from home and found a small house not far from where I was working. It was the weekend and I was just lounging on my couch bored out of my mind. Alex, my husky, slept next to me as I contemplated on what I could be doing. I just ended up falling asleep.

The sound of Alex's barking woke me up. It was strange as she was usually a quiet dog and it was rare for her to bark at anything. I got up found her looking out the sliding door. I thought she probably just wanted to go out. But it was still unusual. If she wanted to go out she would have just bitten onto my pants and pulled me until I did what she wanted. I looked out into the back yard and saw nothing. I just shrugged and opened the door. Alex rushed out and with my curiosity eating away at me I followed her.

The yard was fenced off so I wasn't concerned with her running off and getting hit by a car. She ran off to the side of the house and I just walked to where she ran to. I heard her barking again and quickly went over to her. There was a strange object sticking out of the ground, where Alex was barking.

"That wasn't there before" I muttered to myself. I went over and grabbed it without thinking. With a firm grip on the object I pulled it out. I was surprised at what it was. It was a large bastard sword with a cobalt pommel. It was a strange object. Especially because it was lighter then what I had expected to weigh in my hand. Since the blade wasn't tarnished at all I could clearly see all the intricate designs on it. For a moment I thought I saw light shimmer through the design. I looked at the design again but saw nothing.

"_Hmm. Not what I was expecting... but you'll do." _I heard a ghostly voice come from behind me. I quickly turned around trying to see who spoke. What I didn't expect to find was that I was standing in the middle of an open field. I panicked and almost dropped the sword. Looking around for anything besides grass. I found, to my horror, that I was completely alone.

"Hello!" I shouted trying to see if anyone was hiding around me. I heard gentle laughter behind me. I quickly turned around again but ended up tripping over my own feet and falling flat on my face. The laughter increased in intensity and my eye started to twitch. I controlled my irritation as I stood and glared at the person who was laughing.

She stood about five foot six, pale skin, with long dark blue hair that went to the middle of her back. I thought it looked blue but I could easily be mistaken. I waited for her to stop laughing before I said anything.

"Who are you?" I said in a flat tone. She just smirked at me. I blinked and she was standing right in front of me invading my personal space. I was surprised and fell backwards landing on my butt. She ended up laughing again as I felt my irritation grow. "Stop laughing." I said with my irritation barely reined in.

"Sorry, sorry." she said waving it off trying to control of her laughter. I crossed my arms and waited for her. She finally took a breath and calmed down. She was still smirking at me as she looked at me. We stood there staring at each other waiting for the other to star speaking. I lost my patience and spoke first.

"So... Who are you?" She just tilted her head to the side and I could see that she the mirth in her eyes grew at the same time I was getting irritated. So I took a deep breath and plastered on a blank look. I saw the glee leave her blue eyes as she deadpanned.

"You're no fun." She said. I just raised one of my eyebrows. "Fine. Fine. My name's ¿." My eyes grew wide when she said that.

"What? Could you repeat that? I don't think I understood what you said." At my confusion the mirth returned to her features and I had to resist an urge to cover my face with my palm.

"My name is ¿. Nice to meet you Max." I froze when she said my name.

"How do you-" I began.

"Know you name?" she gave me a shit eating grin. "I know a lot about you Max Riviera. Single, blood type A, born October tenth 1989, moved away from home after your parents died, you like to sleep wit-"  
"Are you some sort of stalker? Government agent? Some sort of freak?" I said as she deadpanned again.

"No. No. and No." she said as she raised one finger to each question I had asked.

"Then how would you know-"

"Simple. I can read your memories."

"Will you stop interrupting me... Wait... read my memories..." I paled at the thought. I turned back to her and saw that she had a book with my name as the title. I was instantly confused. I quickly snatched the book and looked through it.

"Hey! I was still reading that!" She shouted but I ignored her. I read several passages in the book and was surprised at its contents. This one paragraph was about me in the fifth grade standing in the middle of class and shouting my proclamation that I liked video games. It wouldn't have bee too bad except that the teacher was in the middle of a lecture. I quickly shut the book and looked at her.

"Where did you get this?" I said in a serious tone.

"Bookstore." she said nonchalantly. I lost my cool.

"Look here." I said as my irritation broke through. "I don't care where you got this." I said as I shook the book. "Just tell me there aren't any more copies." she shook her head her eyes filled with mirth. "Good. Now where the hell are we."

"Why?" she asked

"Why? WHY! We're in the middle of nowhere and you want to know WHY?" I quickly tried to reel in my temper and took several deep breaths.

"Geese don't get you panties in a knot. You're telling me that you haven't noticed." she gave me a questioning look.

"What do you mean 'I haven't noticed'?"

"Your telling me that this place doesn't feel familiar. Look around you" Now that the panic and irritation subsided a sense of familiarity washed over me. I looked around the field and I had to agree with what she said. The place was very familiar I just couldn't put my finger on what made it so. There was a sense of calm and well being could be felt in the gentle breeze that roamed the field. I felt at ease with this place. I turned back to ask her another question.

Then I saw another book with my name in her hands. I tried to take it as well, seeing as I still had the other book in my hand, but she slapped my hand away.

"I thought you said that there weren't any more copies."

"Different volume." She said bluntly.

"What? Never-mind... Where do you get those books?" I could feel my irritation returning.

"Bookstore." She said again.

"What bookstore?" I finally decided to find where she got these revealing books. She pointed behind me. I turned around and saw a bookstore in the middle of the field with an open sign. My jaw unhinged.

"That wasn't there before." I muttered.

"It's always been there. You just never looked for it." She said as she turned the page. Curiosity took over and my ire was forgotten making me wander into the bookstore. A sign on the door got my attention.

"No weaponry allowed inside, Please use weapon locker to the right." It was odd. There was a blue locker found embedded into the wall with a lock on the side. I placed the sword into the padded locker and locked it. I took the key with me as I entered the store.

The door opened with the jingle of a small bell announcing my arrival. The strange woman was following me around as I looked at the collection of books. Most of them were blank and only a handful had my name written on them.

"This is a weird place." I said to my self. I then noticed that the store was segmented into different collections by genera. I looked up and saw that all the books that had my name written on them were under biography. The thought of me burning the place down was subdued by my curiosity to see what else was in the store.

The bookstore was bigger on the inside then what the small shack would have indicated. A thought of the Tardis came to mind. At that thought I noticed a book strangely sticking out. I pulled it out and read the cover.

"Huh. Doctor Who." I opened it up and saw that it was an entire episode written down with pictures every now and then.

"Interesting place. Right?" ¿ said from behind me. I had forgotten that she was following me and I jumped. Calming myself I had to agree with her.

"So this bookstore is in the middle of nowhere, has books about myself, and is bigger then one would realize."

"Yup" She said not looking up from the book she was reading. I looked at the different book she held now. I quickly read the cover. 'A guide on helping idiots'.

"Why are you reading that?" I asked and she gave me a blank look. I quickly put two and two together. "Hey. I'm not an idiot." She just smirked at me. I decide to ignore her and look around some more. I soon wandered over to another section of the store labeled video games. I picked up one book labeled Tales of Symphonia and skimmed through it.

"Yup this is the game's story." I said to myself. I chuckled for a moment remembering how much time I had played the game and how many times I repeated it. At the end of the book there was a citation.

"Riviera, Max. Vol 14 pg 256." I thought to hold onto the book and look at the other books in the section. With a slow realization I noticed that every book here was about a game I had played at least once. I moved back to another section and saw that every book there I had experienced at one point in time. Then I saw that every book here had an annotation. All to a different book in the biography section. What struck me was that the bio section held all the answers I needed. A quick theory formed in my head and I quickly headed back to the biography section and grabbed one of the books that was in the middle of the case. I skimmed through the pages to see if my theory was accurate.

"Eighth grade. Nope." I put the book back and pulled one out from the top.

"Kindergarten. Huh I don't remember that." I closed it and put it with my other books that I had. I pulled out another book but right at the edge of where the blank books began. I skimmed through the book and found what I was looking for. My suspicions were correct as I read through the book.

_'I had just awoken to Alex barking at my door. I had let her out and followed her as she ran to the side of the house. There I found a broadsword buried the hilt. I unearthed it and saw that it wasn't tarnished at all. It had intricate runes carved onto the blade. There was a flash of energy and I soon found myself standing in the field of my mind.'_

"What..?"

"About time you figured something out." I was absorbed into the book that ¿ was able to walk up to me. I didn't notice her approaching and when she spoke out it scared me again.

"Gahh!" I ended up throwing the book into the air and she caught it and gave me an amused look. I took a breath before I spoke. "I wish you would stop doing that."

"It's not my fault that you're not aware of you're surroundings." She crossed her arms and gave me a look.

"So we're in my head. if that book is what I think it is." I said indicating the book that she was holding.

"Ding, Ding, Ding! We have a winner!" I thought it was best to ignore that.

"The question is how did I get here and what part of me do you represent?" I scratched my head trying to figure things out.

"How sure are you that I'm actually a part of your psyche?" She said as she pulled out another book.

"You cant be anything else besides a part of my mind." I reasoned using my limited knowledge.

"Bzzt Wrong!" She crossed her arms as she made the buzzer noise.

"What? But that's impossible for you to be anything else, besides a part of my mind."

"Says who?" she folded her arms waiting for me to answer.

"I-I don't know! But-" Frustration was eating away at me as I fidgeted in place.

"But what?" She said with a grin.

"Gahh Just tell me then! What are you?" In my frustration I had grabbed my hair and started scratching.

"I told you I am ¿, I have seen 5230 summers, I am a traveler of the stars, embodiment of discovery, I am the living sword you found, and you, dear boy, will be my new master. Do not disappoint me." Before I could say anything she shoved me out of the bookstore. I tripped on the ledge of the store and fell backwards.

* * *

I found myself back in my yard. I was on the ground with the sword still in my hand and Alex licking my face. I just laid there for a moment because of a pounding headache I currently had.

"What was that?" I muttered to myself. Alex sat her self down next to me waiting for me to play or something. Groaning I sat up and looked around. The sword had disappeared from my hand. Was that all some strange hallucination. If not I hope no one took it while I was passed out. I covered my face with my hand hoping in someway that it would stop the pounding.

When the pain subsided I noticed something new on my arm. An intricate blue tattoo was drawn on my right forearm. A series of lines ran down my arm coming from a blue sphere embedded into the back of my wrist. Out of curiosity I touched it. It was embedded in my skin and it would pulse at the same rhythm as my heartbeat. My fingers were able to grip onto the sides of the gem, I wanted to see if I could pull it out. An electrical shock coursed up my arm causing me to wince.

"_I wouldn't do that if I were you."_ ¿'s voice suddenly whispered in my head. Panic overcame me as a frantically searched for the source of the voice.

"_Calm down. I'm in your head. So to speak." _I took a several deep breaths as I tried to calm down. Alex was giving me a strange look as she sat there staring at me. Her head was tilted sideways and I swear I could see a look of amusement in her eyes. Sighing I patted her head and thought 'I hope you cant read my mind'

"_Of course I can." _ She chirped in my head.

"So this isn't all some sort of bad dream." I muttered to myself.

"_Maybe it is" _A small bit of hope welled in my chest. _"Maybe it isn't. Depends on your perspective of on the question "what is life?". Is it a dream? Or is it something more?" _All for it to be crushed a moment later.

"Why are you getting philosophical on me?" I said with my hand on my face, trying to stop the pounding.

"_Because it's fun confusing you." _I knew she was grinning where ever she was.

"You're not going away anytime soon." It was a statement not a question.

"_Bingo"_ The pounding in my head wasn't completely gone, and before I wanted to deal with her some more, I had decided to get something for it.

"_I found you." _A deep ominous voice filled the air. I tensed. Before I could do anything else I was struck from behind. I could feel myself skidding across the ground and hit something solid. Before I blacked out I saw a large hulking monstrosity lumbering towards me.

"What is that..." I muttered as everything went black.

* * *

Max: AAAAAAAAAnd take two. Begin.

Mike: Will do. (salutes and leaves)

Mathew: (muffled yelling)

Max: I never knew that Mike was able to bind you that well.

Mathew: (muffled yelling)

Max: I see. Till next time take care everyone.


	2. Chapter 2

Ego ch2 "A New World"

T? stood in the middle of Max's mind staring at the projection of what Max was currently seeing. The screen started to fadeout when she saw that creature. A scowl formed on her features.

"They found me too soon." She said to her self. She reached into the projection and grabbed something within it. Soon Max fell from into the space coming from the projection.

"I'll take over for a bit. You" She pointed at me "watch and learn." She then jumped into the projection and it changed. When he looked he saw the creature rearing its fist back to attack. The creature was enormous easily reaching fifteen feet in height and eight in girth. Whatever it was, it looked to be missing its skin as exposed muscle groups were flexing and stretching with each movement.

Just before the creature struck, Max saw his body quickly move and dodge the attack. I was watching as my body attacked the creature with punches and kicks. There was surge of energy that coursed though my body as the sword appeared in my hand. With some quick movements the sword had cleaved one of the arms off of the creature. I saw in the background Alex was barking at the thing for a moment and then bit into it tearing off some of it's flesh. I watched stunned horror as the creature backhanded her. I watched as her body flew through the air and collided with the side of my neighbor's house.

"ALEX!" I shouted within my mind scape staring at the unmoving body of my companion. Everything faded white and the only thing I saw was Alex laying there. She had been with me since grade school. I had raised her, played with her, fed and washed her. Now she was gone. No more of her sleeping next to me during the cold nights. No more of her pulling on my pants to go out or for walks. The only one that chased away the loneliness in my life was gone. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. I hadn't realized that I had taken back control of my body. I hadn't realized that the sword had disappeared. All I saw was my friend, unmoving from where she had landed. I knelled next to her and touched her. There was a feint pulse but I found it. She was still alive. I had to get her to the vet now. A roar brought my attention back to the monster lumbering its way towards us. A brief flash and the sword was back in my hand. I didn't know what I did but I didn't care. I redirected my ire and used it.

"You will die." I said letting my rage grip me. I could feel power course through me coming from the gem on my arm. As I got into the creatures range I felt something pull me down and I fell forward. A gust of wind was the only indicator, that when I fell, the creature had almost hit me.

"_Be careful. That thing is faster then you realize." _I didn't care I had to get rid of it fast and take Alex to the vet. I grit my teeth and prepared myself to go on the offensive. I felt a warmth spread from the jewel as everything seemed to slow down.

"_This boost in abilities is temporary." _I nodded and quickly easily dodged the slow moving fist. _"__Aim for the joint." _I followed her instructions and swung the blade aiming for the elbow. Even with the boost of my abilities, I was still under practiced and I missed. I ended up slicing into its bicep, severing a large chunk of the muscle. The creature roared and struck out at me. I had barely dodged as the boost was quickly wearing off. I decided to change tactics. Instead of disabling its ability to attack I aimed for its mobility. Dodging an attack again, I quickly got past its guard and aimed for the legs. With several slashing motions I was able to sever one of its Achilles tendons. It let out a roar as it collapsed onto the ground unable to move from where it was. With one arm missing and the other injured it was unable to do much but kick out with its good leg. I finally got a good look at it and saw something that made my heart stop. Embedded into the thing's back was a large amounts high explosives.

"The hell." I said as I took a step back. The creature let out a large roar followed by a whining sound. Its the same sound when you hear an electronic device gather energy to do its task. That was not a good sign. I quickly ran over to my dog and picked her up as gently as I could. My heart was beating in my ears as I tried to run as faraway as I could. The adrenalin in my system made my body feel numb as I ran. I felt strange. I suddenly felt as if something was entering into my body. I could only stare as a metal object had suddenly appeared sticking out of my stomach. I hadn't escaped the blast radius. Everything slowed again as my body started moving on its own. The sword appeared in my hand again with a quick motion the sword sliced open the air and opened up a dark void. I could feel a force pull me into the void. Soon everything was blacked out. I didn't realize that I had passed out until I heard a voice calling me.

"Oi. Wake up." My eyes slowly opened and I saw that I was standing in my mind again.

"What happened?" I asked not sure on what was going on.

"I was barely able to save you and your dog." I was about to thank her but she continued. "But now we're struck."

"Stuck? Stuck where?" I turned and looked at the projection that would display what I would be seeing but all I saw was a black screen.

"This is the void between worlds." She seemed to hesitate as she spoke.

"Cant you get us back?" I needed to know what was going on.  
"Yes, but..."

"But? But what?"

"If you go back now you will die." I stopped everything I was doing as my thoughts halted.

"What do you mean?" I was confused all I knew was that I had a metal object impaled on my stomach.

"Your body was badly damaged by the blast and the void is currently keeping you in a stable condition-"

"How is it doing that?"

"Are we playing twenty questions or will you let me finish?"

"I'm sorry but I really don't feel like dieing." I said pointing to the screen.  
"Anyways there is no time within the void. " I was about to ask another question but she shot me a look that said 'shut up'. "The void is what gives life to the realities that we know of and others we don't. The rules of physics are warped here and is nearly impossible for normal people to navigate. Good thing i'm not normal."

"You could say that again." I muttered under my breath. (Whap!) "Why'd you hit me?"

"For saying something stupid. I decided on a new rule. Every time you say something stupid I hit you in the back of your head."

"Who made that rule?" (Whap!) "Stop that!" (Whap!) "Why are you doing this?" (Whap!) "..."

"There now then-" (Whap!) I smirked when I saw that she didn't expect my strike.

"You- You hit me... You cant hit a girl!" she was pointing at me with an angry-surprised look.

"Says who?" I grin mischievously. (Whap!) We glared at each other. With a silent signal all hell broke loose. We started hitting each other on the back of the head when we started to dodge. It escalated from there. Slaps turned to punches; turning into kicks; and soon enough an elegant fisticuffs battle. Which degraded into a brawl.

I'll admit it. I was enjoying myself brawling with this spirit in my head. For me this was exciting. I knew she was holding back but I also knew the difference in our abilities. In a real fight she would wipe the floor with me without even trying.

"Ahem" A familiar voice spoke from our side. We paused in our battle and looked at the new arrival. He was an exact duplicate of me except for the word 'subconscious' written on his forehead.

"May I remind you that our body is dying and the void will only sustain us for so long?" I wondered how my subconscious knew this small bit of information.

"Ahh!" T? shouted as she hit me once more and stood up. "Better hold on!" she said as power surged from her. The display that showed my vision fluctuated as a small glimmer of light appeared in the distance. I regained control of my body and could feel myself being pulled towards the light. I was soon blinded by it as I was consumed by the portal.

When I could see clearly again I was laying in a forest. I quickly regretted regaining control of my body as the pain in my abdomen consumed all coherent thought. I didn't know how long I was writhing in pain but I soon blacked out because of blood loss. Before everything went dark a saw a figure hover over me.

I woke up staring up at a wooden ceiling. My eyes stung. I tried to rub my eyes but merely moving was painful. I grunted in pain when I had tried to move but my throat was extremely dry. I looked and saw that a good percentage of my body was covered in bandages. I heard the door open as someone walked in.

"Ah your awake." a woman said as she entered the room. She had dark green hair pulled into a ponytail and auburn eyes. She wore a brown short sleeved leather trench coat a white shirt could be seen underneath, since the coat wasn't closed, and black shorts that went to her knees. Her leather boots were covered in mud as a small dagger was hanging from her side. I tried to respond but all that come out was a dry croak.

"Here drink this." She passed me a canteen of water. I didn't realize that I was thirsty until I took a sip of the water. I drank greedily, ignoring the strange flavor that the water had leeched from the canteen. My body protested at the sudden movement but I had ignored it. I stopped drinking when my lungs started to burn for air.

"Easy now. I don't want to have to save you again." she said as she took the canteen.

"Th-thanks." I mumbled between breaths.

"Now then. How did you get this deep in this forest with that wound in your stomach?"

"I don't know. All I remember was that I was next to my house and found something and then I blacked out and then I woke up injured and in your bed."

* * *

"Are you sure it's a good idea to hide these memories from my consciousness?" Subconscious asked T? while holding several books.

"Yes. He shouldn't know how he got here." she said as she pulled out more books and threw them on a cart and on subconscious' pile.

"Why?" Subconscious asked while struggling with the increasing load of books.

"It would be dangerous if certain persons found him and learned of what he knew."

"Like who?"

"Why so many questions?"

"It's best to have some answers and prepare for the unknown then let it bite you in the end."

"But that's the fun part." She said grinning as Subconscious glared at her.

"Lets just get this over with." Subconscious resigned as he carried his stack of books following the spirit into vault.

* * *

"Judging by you wounds it looks like you were attacked by monsters or bandits. Especially that large one on your stomach. You were pierced by something resembling a lance of some kind." she said as she held her chin in her hand.

"A lance?" I asked but was ignored by her musing.

"It took me quite a bit of effort to stabilize you. Luckily the damage wasn't too severe. Good thing I found you in time. If not you might have bled to death." She said as she finished appraising me.

"Thank you for saving my life. My name's Max." I said as I laid back down feeling the exhaustion creep back up.

"I'm Erin. I also healed that animal that was guarding you." this interested me.

"Guarding me?"

"Yup. It was weird to me. I was heading home after I had gone hunting when I came across your wounded body. You were unconscious and there was a creature that looked like a wolf growling at me. I thought that at first that she was the one that attacked you. But she had laid down next to you to try and keep you warm. At the same time she had attacked other monsters that came across you."

"Where's Alex?" was the first thing I voiced when she said how she found me.

"She's right next to you." she said indicating something on the ground next to the bed I was resting in. I carefully moved myself so I could peek over the edge. I saw Alex curled up with several bandages covering her lower half. I laid by down with a sigh of relief. Erin looked like she wanted to ask some more questions but had noticed that I was fighting to try and stay awake. She told me to get some rest as she left the room and closed the door. I had fallen asleep soon after but my sleep was anything but peaceful.

I was standing in my living room. I would reach for anything in the room as soon as I held anything in my hand it would bust into flames. Every time the flames would jump to the closest object and soon the entire place was in flames. I woke up startled and quickly looked around.

"What was that?" I muttered to myself. "A nightmare. Why?" I laid back down and tried to fall asleep.

The next day I had awoken when someone was knocking on the door to the room. After a moment Erin entered the room holding a steaming bowl of porridge. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I had taken a bite. I felt like I didn't know what was happening to my body when I figured out that I didn't know when I was thirsty or hungry. I was praying that I at least knew when I needed to use the bathroom. Speak of the devil.

"Is there a bathroom I could use?" I asked after I finished eating.

"Bathroom no but all I have out here is an outhouse." I carefully got out of bed and with Erin's assistance I made my way to the outhouse. When I had finished and cleaned up I was eased back into the bed. There were several thoughts that were eating away at me. Where was I? And why am I not in a hospital.

"I keep forgetting to ask but where are we?"

"My cottage is just south of the village of Luin." I paused I've heard that name before but where. I broke out of my musing when I noticed that Erin had placed her hand on my wounds. It was odd though for a second I thought I had seen something else. I blinked and noticed what was going on. Her hand was glowing green as soon as she had placed it upon my wounds. When I saw that her hand was glowing I froze. 'What's going on?' was the thought that was running through my head. Panic started going through me and she noticed.

"Calm down. I need to finish healing your wounds." My mind blanked when she said that.

"What?"

"Haven't you ever seen someone use mana to heal your wounds?" She said looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I slowly shook my head in confusion at her words. Mana? Heal wounds? If I had been paying attention I would have noticed that the pain in my body was diminishing and my wounds knitting themselves closed.

"I would have finished healing you yesterday but I ran out of energy." She continued when I kept quiet. I just nodded still trying to comprehend what was happening. A whine came from my side broke my musing as I looked at Alex. As I petted her I noticed something new in her eyes. An intelligence that wasn't there before. 'What happened to her?' I wondered to my self. As if reading my mind Alex jumped up and licked my face. It took me by surprise and I fell back and onto the bed as Alex jumped after. Licking my face as Erin was laughing at my attempts to stop my dog from licking my face.

It was like Alex was saying _"Don't worry about it. I'm still the same pup that you raised."_ After I had gotten Alex to calm down and sit on the bed I turned and faced Erin.

"How can I ever repay you for doing all this for me?" I asked and noticed too late a mischievous glint in her eye.

"I have an idea." she said with a look in her eye that made me cringe. Alex just sat next to me not knowing what was happening.


End file.
